under the mexican moon

Turtle camp was a.m.a.z.i.n.g.

Before I get into that, quick shout out to my beautiful cousin Dawn who just got ENGAGED!! YAY!

Okay turtles.... Camp was incredible. If I had the time and money, I would still be there right now. I would have stayed for a month, easily. I didn't mind the horrendous bugs (over 300 mosquito bites on my body right now -- not kidding) and I didn't even see a scorpion. The tents were slightly uncomfortable, but definitely bearable for the 5 days I was there. And I did sleep in a hammock during the night a few times. I really enjoyed the lazy afternoons taking naps and reading in the hammocks literally in the surf of the beautiful Pacific.

I also got to play with lots of wildlife. I fed crabs and fish to the turtles, I moved the giant turtles from their regular tank to a temporary one while we cleaned them and the tank, and I even held a baby crocodile and collected crocodile eggs! But by far the coolest thing was patrol.

In México, it is super illegal and hugely punished to take turtle eggs. They are a protected species under Mexican law so from 12-6am every night the scientists and volunteers at the turtle camp do patrol. I went on the 12-3am shift with the marine biologist Oscar. It was just me, him, and the desserted beach. It was incredible. We had to row across a lagoon to get to the hidden 4-wheeler and then once we got on the 4-wheeler, it was 10 miles of beach to traverse and look for egg robbers, fresh nests, and even wild turtles. We made it all the way to the state line with Michocán (we were in the state of Colima) and then we turned around. I hadn't seen a turtle at that point and was kind of sad, but I was having an incredible time with Oscar. He was really happy that I could speak Spanish and enjoyed teaching me about the turtles in Spanish. Also, it was breathtakingly beautiful. It was just desserted beach and the full moon was SO bright that it was hardly dark at all. We drove the 4-wheeler through the surf and it was amazing. On our way back, we saw a turtle that was just walking around in the surf, but Oscar said it wasn't going to lay eggs. I was just happy to see one in the wild! Then a few minutes later we found one digging her nest! We cut off the 4-wheeler and sat in the wet sand literally 1 foot from the mother turtle and waited 45 minutes for her to dig her nest and lay her 100 (yes, 100) ping-pong ball eggs. Then we took them from the nest while she was resting. We had to take them because "poachers" would steal them if we didn't. When we find eggs, we take them back to the camp and bury them in a section of the beach that is gated off from the public and is specifically for the incubation of sea turtle eggs. After that incredible moment, my trip to turtle camp was totally fulfilled and all the sand and mosquitos didn't even matter anymore. Then we found 2 more fresh nests to take the eggs from. We did find 1 freshly robbed nest (sad!) but I was happy to have saved 3 nests. My friend Peter had the 3-6am shift after me and he said that he and Oscar saved 5 more nests worth of eggs. Yay for sea turtles!

I came back from all my beach time, Puerto Vallarta and the turtle camp at Boca de Apiza near Tecomán, completely refreshed and tan. The broken toe is still really bad, but I don't even care any more. I had forgotten how much I love the beach and how much I missed my childhood summers spent at the beach. It was such an incredible 5 days at turtle camp and I can't even express how amazing I feel for having gone. I feel like I made a huge difference in turtle conservation. I also felt like I was on the Discovery Channel (one day....). I am so refreshed.

I will be home in like 10 days! It is so hard to believe that. It is very bittersweet. I am ready to see my family and friends and go back to UR, but I will miss this country so much. I have done so much wandering of Pacific Mexico that I feel like its home to me. The streets of Guadalajara are more familiar to me than those of my new home in Stuarts Draft. I truly feel like I am part of the Mexican culture now, and it is heartbreaking to think of leaving it.